[Successful treatment of an elderly patient with pretreated recurrent breast cancer using low-dose capecitabine].

The author reports the successful treatment of an 85-year-old recurrent breast cancer patient with low-dose capecitabine. Approximately 20 years ago, the patient received a left mastectomy and 2 years later was treated with unspecified chemotherapy for bone metastasis. In November 2001, metastatic tumors in thoracic vertebrae were removed by emergency laminectomy, followed by radiotherapy plus chemotherapy using mitoxantrone, cyclophosphamide and doxifluridine. In June 2005, abdominal computed tomography revealed a single metastatic tumor 20 mm in diameter in the liver. Treatment with paclitaxel at 70 mg/m(2)/day on days 1 and 14 resulted in no change in tumor size while serum levels of cancer antigen 15-3 increased from 22.1 to 98.1 U/ml. Subsequent daily treatment with capecitabine at 1,000 mg/m(2)/day for 21 days was associated with a 50% decrease in tumor size and a reduction in serum cancer antigen of 15-3 to 18.8 U/ml. Grade 2 hand-foot syndrome was noted,but no severe adverse effects were evident. Five months after the induction of capecitabine treatment, a partial response was obtained. These results suggest that low-dose capecitabine may be a safe and efficacious treatment for elderly patients with pretreated recurrent breast cancer. Clinical trials of low-dose capecitabine in such patients are therefore warranted.